A Vietnamese oil tanker that went missing 7 days ago after leaving Singapore has been located after being hijacked by pirates.

"Deputy captain...Pham Van Hoang said Thursday that a group of more than 10 men, who he thought were Indonesian, armed with guns and knives in two speedboats boarded the tanker..." according to the Associated Press.

The ship, Sunrise 689, was carrying a crew of 18 and over 5,000 tons of gas oil when it departed from Singapore on October 2. It vanished 40 minutes after leaving port and was not heard from until this morning when Hoang contacted authorities via cellphone.

He said that pirates destroyed  communication and navigation systems, and put all 18 Vietnamese crew members into a room before siphoning off some of the oil into their vessels.

The ship, owned by Vietnam's Haiphong Sea Product Shipbuilding Co, was on its way to the central province of Quang Tri.

The International Maritime Bureau said that at least 11 ships have been seized by pirates in the Strait of Malacca since April.

[Image via rabiem22]